60% Of North East Homes Unaffordable For First Time Buyers.

New research from Shelter shows that nearly 60% of homes for sale in the North East are unaffordable for first time buying families

Shelter looked at prices for thousands of properties for sale throughout the region, and compared them with the mortgage that an average family buying their first home could afford.

The research revealed that only 42% of homes for sale in the North East are affordable for families that need at least two bedrooms, and only 19% are affordable for larger families looking for homes with three bedrooms or more.

Darlington has only 143 affordable properties and Hartlepool has 207, they are identified hotspots in the region where the problem is very severe.

Mother of three, Fiona feels as though her and her husband will never be able to get on to the property ladder."I've always wanted a stable home for my family, but despite my husband and I both working in decent, professional jobs, house prices are way too high for us to even dream of being able to afford a home of our own.

I feel completely resigned to never getting on the property ladder.

A place to call home should be something you can work towards, not a luxury you can never attain.

It just makes us feel utterly helpless."

With the Election just around the corner Shelter's research also showed that voters are likely to consider a pledge to build affordable homes among their top priorities when casting their vote.

The charity is warning that unless politicians assess this problem quickly, families across the region will be forced to cope with continued expensive housing costs.